More severe mental illness cases seen on college campuses

U.S. – A recent study suggests there has been a rise in the number of cases of students on college campuses with severe mental illness being reported. As reported by HealthDay News, the research also shows rates of prescription medication use for psychiatric illness by students has also increased over the last ten years.

Study author John C. Guthman, director of student counseling at Hofstra University’s division of student affairs, is quoted in the report as stating, “If we look at the average college student and their level of psychological and emotional functioning and distress, on the whole they are not necessarily worse off than they were 10 years ago.”

“However, there are some students who are outliers and they have some difficulty in some areas. And these relatively few students that present in significant distress seem to have increased to a greater percentage than they were a decade ago.”

The research findings were recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in San Diego.